different warring states of japan

Chapter 2104: The Swordsman Who Seriously Pretends to Be His Grandson

On the way back to Tamonyama Castle, Yiyin had already sent someone to summon the head of the secret imperial censors, Yagyu Munenori.

Yang Nuo may not have taken Yukino's words too seriously at first, but Yi Gin always believed that Yukino would do what she said.

Because Yang Nai has been in business for so many years, she has developed the bargaining habit of a businessman in her bones and thinks that everything can be negotiated.

But Yukino won't.

Yukino is the sharpest sword in the island country. Even if the sword is broken and rusted, it is still a weapon and can still kill people.

If Yukino says she wants to kill someone's entire family, she will definitely think about how to kill them all. She won't joke about killing.

The development of Shintoism depends on Takata Haruno, who has a shrewd mind and can get a lot of money to develop Shintoism.

But the one who protects the New Shintoism is Yukino behind Haruno.

Battousai, the executioner of the Shiba family, and the Mibui wolves under her command who wore Yamagata haori, were once the nightmares of countless people.

Yoshigin did not want a violent conflict between Shinto and Buddhism, but even though he was a god worshipped by Shintoism, he could not suppress Shintoism's desire for expansion.

To put it nicely, it is a fanatic who is desperately spreading his faith. To put it bluntly, it is a mad dog that cannot be tied up and will bite everywhere.

Ever since the Takata sisters tried to learn the practices of Nanmanism, New Shintoism has become completely different from the original polytheistic Shinto.

This is determined by the nature of monotheism and no one can stop it.

In the name of love, conquer paganism, eradicate heresy, and dedicate everything to the gods. This is a religious fanaticism that even the gods themselves cannot stop.

Yoshigane knew that he couldn't really restrict Yukino's actions because Shintoism had formed its own monotheistic belief system.

Even without Yukino, there will be others who will sacrifice themselves for their beliefs. Since Shintoism cannot retreat, the only option is to make the Buddhist sects give in.

When Yiyin returned to his residence in Tamonyama Castle, Yagyu Munenori had been waiting in a side room for a long time.

Sitting on the main seat, Yiyin wiped his face with the towel handed by the servant and smiled.

"I heard that you recently went back to learn new sword principles from the old swordsman, and your swordsmanship has improved."

Yagyu Munenori said respectfully.

"As a minister, I have received the grace of the saint, so I should strive to improve myself and serve the saint in a better state.

My mother has lived in seclusion for many years, and has made a breakthrough in her understanding of the way of the sword. This time, she ordered me to return to my hometown to gain enlightenment, and to teach me the true meaning of the sword of the living."

Yiyin pondered over the meaning of his words.

"Living Sword..."

Yagyu Munenori bowed.

"Hey, what my mother taught me is the unique skills she has learned over the years, which is to take without a sword, and to win by not killing people, but by not being killed.

I have selected talented people from among the secret imperial censors to learn from them, so that they can better serve the emperor and share his worries."

Yiyin touched his chin and smiled.

"That's interesting. You've always been loyal to your duties. I'm very satisfied."

Yagyu Munenori bowed and thanked him, but couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart.

Spy chiefs who work too hard to suppress the people and who are too active and proactive in acting as lackeys usually do not have a good ending.

The Yagyu Group was originally only responsible for the Kinki Sasaki area, but after ten years, Yagyu Munenori had become very proficient in the task.

But the sage spoke the law of heaven. Once he reorganized the group, he turned the Yagyu group into secret censors and immediately put Yagyu Munenori on the spot.

The Secret Censor has the right to supervise all the gods, which is more than ten times more powerful, and the responsibility is so heavy that Liu Shengzong's teeth ache. As the saying goes, if you eat the emperor's salary, you must be loyal to the emperor. Liu Shengzong did not dare to complain about the saint, but she couldn't just watch her family fall into the fire pit, right?

The main body of the Yagyu Group is the descendants and disciples of the Yagyu family. The reorganization of the Secret Inspectors will naturally be based on the Yagyu family as the backbone. If something happens in the future, all of them will be wiped out.

The Secret Inspector seems to have great power, being responsible for supervising all the gods under the command of Shiba. However, in the situation of the Shiba family, each family of gods has its own little calculations, and Yagyu Munenori is nothing in their eyes.

Those who have small status but great power will be dead in the future.

Yagyu Munenori was so scared that he didn't even dare to close his eyes when he slept. This led to Yagyu Munenori's years of hard practice and the creation of the sword without a sword, the living sword.

The name of the Secret Censor sounds nice, but in fact, he is responsible for doing dirty work and taking the blame. The deeper he gets involved in the divine realm, the greater the trouble he will get into.

Therefore, if you can avoid killing people, then don’t kill them. This is the true meaning of the living sword.

I can't afford to offend anyone, so let's just stop using knives or guns.

If we find out who is responsible, we will arrest them. If we can't catch them, we won't resort to knife-wielding. If someone is stabbed, it will be considered an industrial injury. If someone is stabbed to death, it will be considered a death in the line of duty. A saint can't let us, a group of secret inspectors who are loyal to our duties, shed blood and tears, right?

Yagyu Munenori was determined to follow the path of a traitor, only investigating without using any force, and being beaten or killed if anything went wrong, thus completing the saint's mission to the greatest extent and protecting the safety of the Yagyu family.

It's really pitiful to say that he is a great swordsman, but he was so scared that he didn't dare to draw his sword before anything happened, and he didn't allow his subordinates to draw their swords. He was really cowardly to the extreme.

From the perspective of the Chinese, this is simply unbelievable. How could two generations of swordsmen in the Yagyu family end up with such a grandson?

But in an island country, it is really normal.

The island nation is a closed society with clear hierarchy. The female samurai is at the bottom and can only work diligently and conscientiously. Her husband cannot participate in the brotherhood activities among samurai husbands.

When a female warrior reaches more than 100 stones, she becomes a middle-level cadre with a little say in the female warrior group.

Her husband was eligible to attend tea parties hosted by samurai husbands.

When a female samurai reaches the rank of 1,000 koku, she is considered a high-ranking samurai and has a place in the group of retainers.

The husband can also say a few compliments at the tea party, instead of being silent and keeping his head down as before.

When a female warrior reaches the level of ten thousand koku, she can be called a daimyo and enter the threshold of the ruling class. Her husband will also be surrounded by the husbands of the female warriors in her own retainers.

This is the island country, a suffocating society with clear class divisions where everyone must learn to read the air, understand their position, and stand firm on their own ground.

The Yagyu family was not of high birth, and it was a great fortune for Yagyu Muneaki to have the chance to become the Ōmetsuki of the Ashikaga Shogun.

If you want to make further progress in the hierarchical martial society, it would be harder than climbing to the sky.

Fortunately, the Yagyu family was lucky. Yagyu Munenori stood firm on his side early in the Battle of Yamato and served in the Sasaki family for his military achievements.

Over the years, Yagyu Munenori has worked diligently and finally managed to become a meritorious old minister. Although his family status is not high, he is at least not looked down upon or criticized for being lowly.

The Yagyu family has the Sengoku Chigyo land granted by the saint. The territory is indeed not large, but they are one of the earliest batch of Sasaki heroes. There is a letter of gratitude written by the saint himself in the house, and the value of the letter is too high.

Therefore, as long as Yagyu Munenori did not make any mistakes, the Yagyu family would inevitably become the meritorious retainer who opened the Shiba War, and the wealth and prosperity for several generations would be guaranteed.

The more this happened, the more cautious Yagyu Munenori became. Whether he was a grandson or suffered humiliation, as long as he could endure it, this swordsman did not mind being laughed at for being timid.

Because this is an island country with a clear hierarchy and where the lower class will never have a chance to get ahead, the Yagyu family is already very lucky, and Yagyu Munenori dares not and cannot let down this hard-earned luck.

Yiyin chatted with Yagyu Munenori for a while, and the servants on both sides had done their duties and bowed and left.

After everyone left, Yiyin changed the subject and asked about Yagyu Munenori.

"Are the Buddhist sects in Kyoto doing well recently?"